


What Has Been Done

by Tahlruil



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: BAMF Bucky Barnes, Bucky Barnes-centric, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Pining, Protective Bucky Barnes, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-05-05
Packaged: 2018-09-18 01:09:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9357737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tahlruil/pseuds/Tahlruil
Summary: Bucky has lived with the Avengers for a while now, and he's mostly settled in. During the process, he fell for Tony Stark - hard - but he can't quite bring himself to admit it to the brilliant engineer. So he just does what he can to take care of and protect him, hoping that maybe the other man will fall just as hard for him...andbe the one to take their relationship to the next level. In the meantime, he's noticed that there's one member of the team that Tony seems afraid of, and he is definitely not pleased by the notion.Once he finds out what Wanda did to cause that fear, she might wish she'd never left Hydra.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So a week or so ago (I think? Maybe? About that. XD ) I got this in my ask box on tumblr: _'hello if you like can you write a winteriron prompt where bucky is really protective of tony and kinda loses it when he discovers what wanda had done to him in age of ultron. he confronts her, he doesn't like her since she was hydra and everyone except bruce and thor come in her defence. bucky seriously gets pissed off and tells them the truth which they just dont want to see. after a while steve realises what he did and his horrified. he avoids her then. tony is touched by what bucky did.'_ It's a fun prompt, and I've been turning it over in my head for a while. Finally got the first part done! Yay! It's up on my tumblr, but I thought I'd post it here too.
> 
> This is just the first chapter - there'll prolly be two more, with the third maaaaybe being smut? Possibly? If people are down for my awkward attempts at that? XD And I promise the rest of it will have more dialogue. This was just to set everything up. XD
> 
> You can always feel free to drop off prompts in my box, anonymous or not! I can't guarantee I'll do every single one, of course, but if it sparks my interest, I'm happy to! I can do no pairing, most romantic Marvel pairings (though Buck/Steve and Tony/Rhodey feel super awkward for me, I'd try!) or most Dragon Age pairings. Feel free to hit me up!
> 
> Please comment and tell me how I did? <3 Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoy!

Tony wouldn’t meet Wanda’s eyes.

No one else seemed to notice that, or the way the genius did his best to avoid her. When they _did_ have to be in the same area, the man always looked haunted, and flinched if she came too close or used her power without any warning. That much Wanda knew and seemed pleased by – the rest of the team should have picked up on it too. They should have called her out on it, taken her to task for the times she would gleefully use scarlet light to do something she would have done by hand if Tony weren’t in the room. No one mentioned it… so Bucky had to believe he was the only one who saw. The alternative just didn’t bear thinking about.

Steve would say he picked up on it all because he was sweet on the guy, and so pretty hyper-aware of his every move and mood. It was a fair point, but not enough to account for the blindness the rest of the team was displaying. Steve’d have an answer for that too. He’d say Bucky was seeing things that weren’t there because he didn’t _like_ Wanda. Then he’d give sad eyes and wonder again why they couldn’t be friends. After all, Hydra had experimented on her too! They had a lot in common, and if they’d just talk they could help each other.

That was complete and utter fucking bullshit, but he didn’t know how to tell Stevie that without earning his ‘I am very disappointed in you’ face in return. Because in his opinion, he’n Wanda were different as night’n day. She’d _volunteered_ for that shit, and – from what he understood – had very happily marched along to Hydra’s tune. It wasn’t until the Ultron incident that she’d realized that maybe she and her twin weren’t making the best of choices and switched sides. Even now, she didn’t seem all that repentant about what had gone one before that little change of heart. Since he’d fallen off a train, lost his arm and been forced to wear an arm-shaped weapon in its place that hurt all the goddamn time and then been brutalized into becoming a wind-up murder doll, he felt very justified in his lack of sympathy for her so-called ‘plight’. She’d made choices and they’d been shitty and done a fuck-ton of damage, and that sucked – but she’d had the opportunity to _choose_. Excuse him, Steve, if he thought that was a pretty significant fact.

Besides, he trusted Tony’s judgment more on this one – and not just because he was secretly and quietly pining after him. Tony was a smart fella, and he wasn’t scared of much. Wasn’t even scared of Bucky, and not in the forced, cheerful way that Steve and Sam refused to be scared of him. No, when he’d finally let Steve bring him in from the cold and then met the man for the first time, Tony had met his eyes with a fierce scowl, and said ‘meet me in the pit’. Then he got into an argument with Steve about ‘duels to the death’ and how they were ‘unacceptable’ and how ‘it _wasn’t Bucky_ Tony!’ and all sorts of other shit. The whole time, he’d kept his eyes locked on Bucky’s, refusing to back down in the face of a legendary assassin who’d killed his parents. By the time it was over, he had a solid respect for the man. Eventually, when Steve was away on a mission, they’d been able to ‘spar’ with Tony in the Iron Man suit. He’d kicked Bucky’s ass (not that he’d been fighting back too hard, and not that he’d ever, ever let Tony know that) and then they’d grabbed a beer together. Bucky listened as Tony rambled about his parents – mostly his mother – about his anger, about how much he hated the Winter Soldier, about how he _hated_ that Hydra’s weapon had been wearing his face. When he’d finally talked himself out, Bucky had apologized, Tony had scoffed, and that was pretty much that.

Two weeks later, he and Ms. Potts ended things, and he moved to the compound full time – Steve said it was to lick his wounds among friends, but Bucky thought he was probably just lonely. Lonely and a little crazy, because he started letting Bucky into the workshop whenever he wanted. Bucky liked it because he could sit and watch, or sit and look at nothing; it was never quiet, but he wasn’t expected to contribute to the noise. Tony seemed to like having someone around who didn’t mind if he talked _at_ them, and even if he didn’t push Bucky into talking, he always perked up if it was a good day and they managed actual conversations. Bucky liked watching him build things, liked watching lines on paper (or on a holograph thing, whatever) become a reality.

He didn’t like that Tony didn’t eat or sleep near enough.

He didn’t like that Tony didn’t spend as much time with the team as he clearly wanted to.

He _hated_ that Tony came back from fights all scraped and bruised and refused to go to medical.

He loathed being unable to join the Avengers on the field so he could protect both Steve and Tony.

So he started bringing food to the workshop with him, nudging Tony carefully into eating. He noticed pretty quick that if he brought something he’d made himself and asked the genius to try it to see if he’d done it right, the man was willing to indulge him by taking a bite… and then would usually absently finish off the portion. He also realized that trying to _hand_ Tony a plate was the best way to get him irritated and absolutely unwilling to have anything to do with him for about twenty minutes – it was clearly a sore spot, so Bucky navigated around it with as much grace as he could manage. If Tony had been up and in the ‘shop for more than 48 hours, he’d head down that way and plop down on the couch, making a bit of small talk before he began to yawn and stretch as if he were tired. If he played his cards right, Tony would start doing the same, and he could then lure the man into the elevator with a suggestion of watching a movie upstairs – both of them were usually asleep on separate couches in the rec room before it was even halfway through. Then he or Steve ( the latter mostly in the beginning, before Bucky realized why his heart sped up and his stomach began to flutter in Tony’s presence) could carry him to his room and tuck him into bed. Bucky kept the first aid kit in the ‘shop well stocked, and after a few weeks of their blooming friendship, Tony would let him tend to all the wounds that Bucky was sure wouldn’t be there if he’d be allowed to go out there and fight along with them.

When Steve realized what was going on, he’d laughed until he was crying, curled up on the floor in a shaking ball. Bucky didn’t appreciate it, and the prank war that raged across the compound in the next month made his displeasure pretty clear. Other than the initial reaction though, the blond was supportive in his clumsy efforts to woo Tony – they were two of his best friends, he said, and he wanted them both to be happy. If they were happy together, well, that’d suit him just fine.

Bucky thought he might have more luck if he could get Tony to hang out with the whole group more often. Maybe then he’d see that Bucky didn’t treat anyone else that way but Steve, that he was _special_. Maybe then he would realize that Bucky’s protective streak was reserved only for people he cared about like crazy. That was really his only hope, that Tony would see that and make a move, because every time he tried to open his stupid mouth to confess and do something about his feelings, he sort of forgot how to speak English, and even his Russian got stuck in his throat. What escaped was never helpful, and tended to have Tony arching a brow and asking if ‘The Soldier’ was making a comeback. So he just had to get Tony around everyone else for a while, so he’d realize how Bucky felt.

Except being around the team almost always meant being around Wanda, and Tony was always so uncomfortable. He tried to pretend he wasn’t, but Bucky saw. Bucky noticed. Tony Stark was a man who met everything and everyone head on – he didn’t flinch until the job was over and the damage done. He’d never been scared of Bucky, and he didn’t show that he was scared of much else either. He should feel comfortable in the compound; he should feel safe.

But he wouldn’t look Wanda in the eye.

Bucky aimed to find out exactly what the Witch had done to his beautiful, fractured genius.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was sitting and watching LOTR, minding my own business and very happy with managing to post a chapter for another fic... and then. Then my muse decided we should DO THE THING, and we both got very excited about it. I scrounged up a notebook, expecting to get a few paragraphs in... and instead a whole chapter happened! Yaaaay! Go muse!
> 
> Any mistakes are because sometimes the movie or the stories from the 'Appendices' discs caught my attention for a few minutes. XD I apologize profusely for them.
> 
> This story is also being posted on my [Tumblr](http://tahlreth.tumblr.com/), so if you enjoy it, feel free to like, reblog and comment there too. XD
> 
> Comments here are much loved, and feed my poor starving soul. <3 Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoy it!

The first order of business, Bucky knew, was to show Tony that he was absolutely and without a doubt **not** on Wanda’s side. Most of the Avengers seemed pretty eager to defend the little witch – something he just couldn’t wrap his head around, if he were being honest. She wasn’t a kid, no matter what Steve said, and she’d been neck-deep in some seriously shady shit of her own volition. And yet he’d been eyed with deep suspicion when he joined the group while most of his housemates seemed happy to hand her the keys to the kingdom.

Since everyone who’d demonstrated themselves to be on her side were clueless as to the tension between her and Tony, Bucky’d come to an obvious conclusion. He’d never find out the ‘why’ of their dynamic until he could show Tony that not only was he not on Wanda’s side, but he was in fact firmly on Tony’s. First thing’s first though – he wasn’t going to trust Bucky even a little until he had some data that showed Bucky didn’t like or trust Wanda. Bucky was happy to provide all the data he could.

His chance came one night at a team dinner. Though they’d been deemed ‘mandatory’ by Stevie, Tony often found a way to wriggle out of them. But their gear was all in tip-top shape, the idiot genius was well-rested, _and_ he was ahead of schedule when it came to his SI projects. That Trifecta of Doom (Tony’s words) meant that Stevie ruthlessly enforced the ‘you must show up and socialize like a normal human being or _so help me **God**_ ’ rule.

Bucky _hated_ that rule.

Still, it meant that Tony joined them for dinner, so it was working in his favor for the moment. The whole team was present except Thor and including the current object of his ire. He knew it was only a matter of time before she gave him an opening.

He would wait.

He could be patient, for Tony’s sake.

~.~.~

“So Rhodes will be here next week?”

“Yeah. My platypus finally convinced his CO’s that he needs me to check over the armor. I wish he’d tell the Air Force to stuff it and just come around to see me more often. I love doing upgrades, but I’d like more time to just hang out and blow shit up. It has been _months_ since I’ve had my hands on my baby though, so I am looking forward to it. If they outfitted War Machine-”

“Iron Patriot.” Steve corrected with an unholy amount of glee, not bothering to duck when Tony chucked a roll at him. The little shit just caught it in his mouth and started to eat it, clearly enjoying the chance to tweak Tony’s nose a bit.

“We do not speak that name in this house, you heathen,” Tony hissed, a playful glint in his eyes. Bucky loved him like this – open and playful, willing to play a role to make them all laugh. “Anyway, like I was saying. If they put any filthy, unreliable HammerTech on **War Machine** ,” he continued, glaring at Steve as he emphasized the name. Stevie just continued to grin unrepentantly. “Then I’m gonna hack the Pentagon again in retaliation.”

“Tony. You can’t-”

“Again?”

“Yes! That is an awesome plan, and I for one am fully in favor!”

“Clint, don’t encourage him. Please.” They were all smiling and chuckling, having a good time and enjoying each other’s company for once. Even Vision’s lips were curved in a vague expression of humor as Tony announced his plan to play the ‘Numa Numa’ song over the Pentagon’s loudspeakers for at least half an hour or until they got him out of the system – whichever came first. So, of course, Wanda took the opportunity to ruin everything.

“So your ego is so big you cannot allow anyone else to have a hand in your work?” It was fucking unfair that she had such a lyrical, lilting voice and that she could sound so sweet while poking and digging at old wounds. “And your little… prank would put the whole of this country at risk as well, would it not _Stark_?”

She always spat his name like she was throwing down a gauntlet, and it raised Bucky’s hackles immediately. He’d had handlers address him like that, always trying to push his buttons so they could see where his lines were. It wasn’t done to find boundaries to respect, oh no – it was so they knew exactly where and how hard to prod to make him snap, and then they could laugh as they watched him punished for giving in. No one else but Tony seemed to notice the tone though. They just kept eating, smiling like this was business as usual.

It pissed him off that it really _fucking was_.

“HammerTech is notoriously unreliable,” Tony told Wanda carefully, most of his good humor already gone. Now he was wary and defensive, readying himself for the attacks he knew were yet to come, prepared to face them alone because the rest of their team was made up of morons. “If the military had someone even halfway competent fiddling with my designs, I wouldn’t mind quite so much. And I’d have Friday monitoring everything at the Pentagon – she’d make sure any actual emergencies trumped the prank.”

“Ah, so we should trust national security to one of your AI’s. It always goes so well.” Wanda’s smile was sharper than the knives Bucky carried hidden on his person at all times, and there was a disturbing glitter in her eyes. Everything in him was _screaming_ that she was a threat, and that he needed to take her down… but if he tried without the backing of the team, he would look like the crazy one. They might decide he needed to be confined and watched again; he couldn’t protect Tony if that happened, so it was imperative he keep calm until the most opportune moment. Everyone else looked uncomfortable now too, which _should_ have made him feel better.

Except the were all of them – all except Vision – side-eying _Tony_ , not Wanda. The slightest, vaguest mention of Ultron, and they were all looking at the genius in suspicion, like he was harboring horrid plans for world domination. It was enough to make him growl softly and clench both hands around his silverware hard enough that he bent the metal. Only Stevie and Nat noticed, or at least they were the only ones who glanced his way. Vision was still staring at his plate and shifting uneasily, while Sam and Clint were watching Tony with narrowed eyes. Wanda, of course, was still staring down Tony. God he wanted to stab the lot of them.

Murder wasn’t necessarily _always_ bad.

Tony was still and wearing the smile he usually broke out for the press when they were being especially vicious. He shouldn’t have to wear that smile in his own fucking home. “Ha. Well, Friday is… she’s a lot more limited than even… than even JARVIS was. More a VI than an AI. Could someone pass the potatoes please?”

Bucky’d been wound tighter than coiled steel for a good five minutes; at the slightest hint that it would please Tony, he’d happily kill Wanda and offer him her head on a silver fucking platter. At the moment, he’d deliver a non-fatal stab wound to the rest of the team with a smile on his lips and a song in his heart. So when Wanda finally, _finally_ gave him an excuse, he maybe overreacted just a little.

Or maybe they’d **all** been _under_ reacting for too fucking long.

As soon as the scarlet mist wrapped around the dish that held the scalloped potatoes, Bucky reacted. He didn’t wait to process the cruel glee in the witch’s expression; he didn’t stop to look for the indulgent smile he knew he’d find on Steve’s lips or for the terror that would be in Tony’s eyes. No, with the speed and ease born from years of cruel training at Hydra’s hands, Bucky reached for one of his knives and threw; when he heard the ‘thunk’ of it hitting wood and sticking, he didn’t bother to fight the satisfied smile that briefly curved his lips.

Though he’d barely aimed, the tip of the knife had managed to pierce Wanda’s sleeve as well, drawing a shriek from the woman. Now the little witch’s hand was pinned to her chair, and she was glaring at him with murderous intent. Her surprise had made her lose control of her powers; Nat being on her game was the only thing that saved the potatoes. She caught them before they could hit the table, and it was only after setting them down that she joined the rest of the team (sans Wanda and Bucky) in jumping to her feet and watching Bucky carefully. None of them were side-eying Tony anymore, he noticed cheerfully, and they were even reaching for their weapons. That was a definite improvement, because outta the two of them, he was infinitely more dangerous than the genius. He schooled his expression, making it blank as he pinned a dead-eyed stare on Wanda.

“What the _fuck_ is your problem?” she demanded, tugging at the knife. It was in deep enough that it took quite a bit of her strength to pull it free. He was almost sorry she didn’t use her magic to get herself loose; he’d have been happy to go for the other sleeve. Or even her hand, really – he wasn’t feeling too picky just then.

“Keep your magic to yourself, witch,” he ground out, purposefully using something close to his ‘Winter Soldier’ voice. Right now that had everyone even more worried, but in a minute or so it’d land them all firmly on his side in this little spat. If they thought her magic was a trigger… well. It really was, though not in the way they’d think, and it was something he could handle. He’d never have brought it up if it weren’t a way to protect Tony and show him that Bucky was **not** going to join Wanda’s band of defenders. “We’re not inna fight, and we aren’t training neither. We’ve all got fucking hands, so we can pass shit around like regular folk?”

“ _Bucky_ -”

“ **No** , Stevie. Been lettin’ this go long enough. I been tryin’, honest, but – no. She’s Hydra-”

“I am **NOT** -”

“Oh, not _anymore_ or so you say. But you were, and they’re the ones who gave you those powers! Every time I see ‘em… no. I get it in training, which I understand – gotta learn to work with it if I ever want to be cleared to go out in the field. But I shouldn’t have to think about Hydra every time we sit down to eat!” Stevie’s face had already melted into an expression of warm, anxious concern. Bucky might have felt guilty for milking this if the blond idiot hadn’t left his Tony to suffer alone for so long.

“Buck… why didn’t you say anything before now?”

“… ‘Cause I didn’t wanna hurt team morale.” Oh, Wanda knew he was bullshitting – he could tell by the fury in her eyes. “B’sides, she can mess with my head if she’s mad at me, right? ‘M tired of people fucking around with my brain.” It was true, even if he didn’t let himself think about that too often. He let out a little too much of that, and he hated the vulnerability he could hear in his voice… at least, he hated it until Tony took a step towards him and laid a hand on his shoulder in a show of solidarity.

When Sam tried to do the same thing, Bucky couldn’t help but bare his teeth at his sometimes-friend, sometimes-enemy. “Hey, hey. We aren’t gonna let anyone do that, man. You gotta trust us on that one. Wanda isn’t poking around in anyone’s head. Sometimes she can’t help the vibes she gets, but she’s not purposefully digging for anything. Right?” As Sam looked to Wanda for confirmation, Bucky sent her a mental dare.

He almost hoped she did call BS, because it would _prove_ that she was in his head. And Steve would ask why he’d really done it, which meant they’d all have to talk about the actual issue. Somehow he thought she’d be as eager for that discussion as Tony was… meaning they’d both rather have their spleens operated on with a rusty saw. When she only glowered at him in petulant defeat, he had to fight back the urge to crow – he’d backed her into a corner, alright. Served the bitch right, for making Tony scared, and for forcing him to whip out his press smile in a place where he should feel completely safe.

“Right. I don’t do that anymore.” Wanda told them all stiffly, tossing his knife onto the table in front of Bucky. Tony jerked, like he’d expected the knife to hit _him_ , which _fuck that shit all the way back to Russia_ , and Bucky had had enough.

“Yeah, well I don’t trust you,” he sneered, shoving away from the table as he grabbed first his knife and then his plate. “You were Hydra because you _wanted_ to be. I don’t like Hydra, and I don’t like you. And how’m I supposed ta trust that she’s behavin’ when she can’t even keep her powers under wraps long enough to eat?” he demanded of Sam and – more importantly – Steve, jutting out his jaw stubbornly. “I’ll learn to live with that shit when I hafta, but I don’t need her turnin’ my stomach inside out while I’m tryin’ ta eat. I don’t need to be thinkin’ about that fuckin’ chair-” The way he choked on his words was real, as was the fear that spiked inside of him.

Steve moved to offer him reassurance, but Tony got there first, wrapping his fingers around Bucky’s metal arm and squeezing tightly. Their eyes met, both of them searching, and after a moment Bucky was able to offer him a weak smile. “Thanks doll,” he murmured, shifting so he was between the genius and the witch. “I can’t… I don’t wanna be here right now. Wanna… wanna maybe grab your plate and eat in the ‘shop with me?”

The thing about Steve’s puppy-dog eyes was that he’d learned ‘em late – when he was a skinny bit of nothing, he hadn’t needed to do anything but exist and all the old ladies were desperate to stuff him with food. No, he’d learned to don the pitiful expression later, after his body changed on him and would have denied him free food for the rest of his life. Bucky’d been the one to teach him, and Steve’d never, ever quite reached his level of expertise.

So he wasn’t real surprised when Tony caved after less than a second of Bucky’s sad, soulful eyes begging him to give in; neither was Steve. The rest of them all looked a bit shocked when the genius reached to grab his plate. When Wanda gave a sound that seemed vaguely protesting, Bucky turned to her and delivered a vicious snarl, continuing to put his body between her and his Tony. The man in question seemed to realize it, and the look he shot Bucky before starting towards the elevator was one of both gratitude and consideration.

“I’ll start eatin’ with you lot again when the witch learns to keep her fucking magic under wraps at the dinner table.” He told them all, giving a dismissive sniff and then turning to stalk after Tony. Before the elevator doors closed, he could hear Wanda wailing about the unfairness of it all… but Stevie would have his back. Stevie and Sam would be all for aiding Bucky in his continued recovery, while Nat and Clint would be all in favor of making sure the Winter Soldier never came to dinner uninvited. Vision… Vision he didn’t have much of a read on, but he knew how the discussion would end.

Maybe now Tony could eat with the team more often. It would make the genius happy to spend time with them, and he wouldn’t have to worry that Wanda would use her magic against him. If Bucky kept making sure the bitch’d have to physically go through him to try anything else, that would mean even less stress at dinner, which would mean an even _happier_ Tony! And surely, surely the genius would realize that it was all for him, that Bucky was doing it because he was _special_. Yup, this first part of the plan had gone off without a hitch.

It was really, really hard to keep a gloating smirk off his face.

~.~.~

“Knock knock.”

“Bucky-babe! You know you don’t have to knock. You have a lifetime free pass to enter this house of madness.” Distracted Tony was always fun to listen to, because he gave out the most ridiculous (sweetest) nicknames and didn’t really pay attention to what was coming out of his mouth. “Honestly I should just set you up a little corner of your own, you’re down here so often. Maybe I’ll get rid of DUM-E and his charging station – yes, you!” he answered the sad, inquiring little whistle. “You know what you did! You’re lucky you aren’t already on your way to McDonald’s to become their latest employee. You’d really shine there, but here you’re almost useless. Don’t droop and give me the sad claw, you pile of metal. Be better and you can stick around.”

A robot shouldn’t be able to sigh soulfully, but somehow DUM-E managed before zooming over to Bucky and tucking his bulky, unwieldy frame against his left side. “Hey, bud. Don’t worry – he loves you too much to give ya up. You know that.” DUM-E only made another sulky noise, trundling along after Bucky close enough to continuously almost trip him as he crossed the floor to where Tony was working. “An’ I don’t need my own space, ya loon. ‘M good just sittin’ on the couch and watchin’ you make the future.”

“Stop, you’re making me blush. God, I’m going to swoon, and the welder is still on. You’re gonna make me burn down the whole tower- DUM-E NO! It was a-”

It was too late – as soon as the word ‘welder’ had been mentioned, the pouting ‘bot cheered and zoomed off to grab his favorite toy. Any idiot would have known how _that_ was going to turn out, and Bucky couldn’t wait for the show. Sure enough, when ‘burn’ left Tony’s mouth, the ‘bot pulled the pin and began to hose down Tony’s work area with abandon.

Moments later, the workbench was covered in white foam, as was Tony’s right side and a good portion of the floor. The welder was off at least when it clattered to the ground, and the genius looked torn between laughter and fury while the poor, hapless DUM-E was doing spins and twirls in celebration, holding the extinguisher aloft. U hurried over to join the party, the ‘bots ‘discussing’ DUM-E’s ‘daring rescue’ as Bucky lost the fight against laughter.

His guffaws only got louder when Tony whirled to face him, a playful scowl on his handsome face. “You think this is funny, Buck-a-boo? You come into _my house_ on the day when I am about to catapult us into the future, and you show such disrespect? In my house, Buck-a-roo? You do this in my own house?”

“That’s not even close ta the fuckin’ quote Tony,” he challenged, grinning and backing away from the approaching and very messy genius – both plates of dinner he carried needed to be kept safe at all costs. “What’re ya doin’? You comin’ after me now? After I slaved over-a hot stove to bring you food?”

“… put the plates down, Bucking Bronco, and it’ll be fine.”

“‘Bucking Bronco’? Really?”

“Shut up and put the plates down.”

“Not ‘til you tell me why.”

“I gotta teach you some respect, Bucky Brewster. Was that one better?”

“You’re fucking nuts.” Still, Bucky did put down their dinner on a surface he deemed safe enough – there was a distinct lack of motor oil, and DUM-E and U were still having a ball with the now-empty fire extinguisher. “There, ya happy now doll?”

“Very. So you think it’s funny that my excitable, idiotic child ruined a full day’s worth of work, do you?”

“Little bit,” Bucky answered casually, loving the sparkle in Tony’s eyes as he continued to advance. He let the man almost get within reach, then danced back again, arching a brow. “You’re the one who talked about shit being on fire when he was around. It’s kinda your fault sweetheart.”

“Really. You think it’s my fault that a fortune in electronics is covered in shitty white foam?”

“Yup.” He returned, making sure to pop the ‘p’ extra loud.

“Then I bet you also think it’s my fault that _I’m_ covered in foam,” he murmured thoughtfully, still coming after Bucky in a slow dance of chase and retreat. They both knew where this was going… and really, Bucky thought the end result would be well worth it. “And you must find it absolutely hilarious to boot.”

“Little bit, yeah.”

“Huh. Interesting.” This time when Tony lunged, Bucky only pretended to evade; he willingly let the genius catch him in his arms, delivering a warm, tight hug… and also a crap ton of the shitty white foam. _Worth it_ , Bucky decided happily, wrapping his own arms around Tony in turn. In a fit of playfulness, he lifted the other man off the floor and twirled him in a circle reminiscent of the ‘bots happy dance. That immediately started the pair of them off again, which made him laugh over the exuberant beeps and whistles. After only a moment, Tony joined in even as he held on for dear life, allowing himself to be swung without complaint. Once he was on the ground though, he punched Bucky’s shoulder lightly and began to scowl. 

“Ow! Hey, c’mon now. That was fun – admit it.”

“Whatever. Still funny now that _you’re_ all foam-y?”

“Yup.”

“Loser.”

“Nerd.”

“Ugh.” Turning away, Tony stripped off his tank-top casually, an act Bucky absolutely would have fallen for if it wasn’t for the bit of pink on Tony’s cheeks when he turned back around. “Don’t want foam in my food,” he muttered by way of explanation, and this encounter was officially not funny anymore. Bucky felt his mouth go bone-dry as he allowed his eyes to roam over all of the muscled flesh Tony had on display. He found himself lingering on the scars left behind by the arc reactor, and he wanted more than anything to settle his metal hand over the marks and promise to protect Tony’s heart for the rest of his life.

Thankfully even he wasn’t so far gone that he thought that would be anything other than creepy to the extreme. They were just barely friends! Friends did not go around making sappy declarations like that!

To keep himself from doing it anyway, he shrugged and pulled off his shirt as well, tossing it to the couch. “Good idea. No wonder they gave ya the genius label.”

“Yeah. That’s what did it – my extensive knowledge of when to get naked. Not that I’m going to! Or that you should. Half nude is good. It’s better. It’s best! Because we’re eating dinner, not… uh. Yeah. So. Ducking out on another team dinner, or did you just miss me?”

“Why can’t it be both? I like hanging out with you, and I’m still not convinced that the witch isn’t gonna activate her creepy-ass magic just to mess with me. Steve promised, but… uh. I was wonderin’ if maybe you’d be there? Next time I eat with the whole team I mean,” he elaborated as he grabbed his plate and watched Tony do the same. “I feel like you’re the only other person in this place who doesn’t buy her sob-story one hundred percent. So I’d like it if you were… you know. Around. Just in case. You watch out for me, and I’ll take care-a you. Even trade.”

“… I don’t know. She… ah. She doesn’t like me very much. We have… history. Sucky history. Pain and death and terrible choices and her creepy-ass magic… none of it fun. I don’t… I don’t like to intrude.”

“But you live here too! You should be able ta eat with us if you want. I should feel comfortable eatin’ at the table, or watchin’ movies, or doin’ whatever without worryin’ that she’s gonna be… fuck. I don’t know. Pulling killer rabbits outta hats.”

“That’s not her party trick.”

“Then what is?” At first, Bucky thought he’d pushed too far. Tony paled and set the forkful of food he’d been about to eat back onto his plate with a fairly loud clatter. The man gulped convulsively, and the plate began to shake – no, that was _Tony_. He was shivering, and there was fear and guilt and self-loathing all jumbled up in his eyes, and Bucky just couldn’t take it. Swearing softly, he dropped his own dinner back on the bench it had been on and crossed to Tony in two quick steps; after removing the genius’ plate from his hands, it was his turn to initiate a hug. This one should have been better, what with all the skin-on-skin contact, and in some ways it was. Tony was warm, though not as warm as Bucky, and their bare chests pressed together would have been cause for a prayer of gratitude and a more thorough exploration if it had happened under different circumstances. As it was, Bucky only pulled Tony close, tucking his head under his chin. “Hey, hey. I’m sorry doll,” he soothed, running one hand up and down Tony’s spine. He hated the way the man trembled, and he felt a vengeful fury building in his heart again.

Most of it was for Wanda – she was the one making Tony so afraid. The little witch had _done_ something, and he was gonna find a way to make her pay. But the rest of them, the whole bunch of Tony’s so-called friends? They’d let it go on. They’d ignored the signs, and Tony’d been carrying this weight all by himself, and it wasn’t fucking fair. He was going to pound them all into the ground, and if he didn’t actually kill Wanda he’d be very proud of his restraint.

“Shouldn’ta asked. Sorry. You don’t gotta say nothin’ Tony. But hey,” here he pulled back a little and took gentle hold of Tony’s chin, tipping it back so their eyes met once more. “I won’t ever let her hurt you, ya know. I’ll do whatever I gotta to make sure she can’t… do whatever the fuck she did again. I mean it. You name it, doll, and it’s fucking done.” When he let go, Tony was quick to hide away again, holding on to Bucky like he was Tony’s anchor. 

Bucky liked the thought as much as he hated the way Tony needed one.

“You… you really wanna know?”

“Yeah. I… I wanna know _everything_ about you Tones. But you don’t gotta tell me if you don’t want to. This is about you right now, not makin’ me feel better.” Bucky hesitated a moment, then shrugged and threw caution to the wind. In a single easy motion, he lifted Tony up off the ground – he only just managed to grip the back of the man’s thighs instead of his ass. The genius immediately wrapped his legs around Bucky’s waist, which was surprising and thrilling in equal measure – he’d expected Tony to protest, maybe even yell and threaten to beat him up if he didn’t let go. This… this was a lot better, and also just a little scary.

Did… did Tony really trust him that much?

That was a question for another time; at the moment he needed to focus on caring for the shaking man in his arms. Bucky walked them over to the couch, then sat down carefully. He thought Tony would scramble to get away from him, or even just slide to one side so he could be close but not in Bucky’s lap. But no – once again his expectations were shattered, because Tony seemed quite happy to stay right where he was. He didn’t even protest when DUM-E wheeled over and draped a worn blanket over the both of them.

“I haven’t… told anyone else. They wouldn’t… I didn’t think they’d believe me.” Tony whimpered into his bare shoulder, rousing every protective instinct Bucky possessed.

“Well I’m gonna believe you, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“You won’t… you won’t be mad?”

“Why’d I be mad, doll? It’s the witch who hurt you, not the other way ‘round.”

“… I’m not trying to deny responsibility. I know it was my fault, and it was my idea. Even Bruce wasn’t sure, and I bullied him into… it was all my fault. It’s on me, and I know that. I’m not trying to… to blame her. It was originally my idea, and anyway the rest of the team shook it off fine. So I should have been okay. I was okay. It wasn’t even affecting me by the time I… I know it was my fault Bucky, I promise. I’m not trying to m-make you hate her, or make it seem like-”

“Hey, hey… easy sweetheart. Easy.” Bewildered and not quite sure what exactly Tony was talking about, Bucky just held him closer and stroked his hands over the expanse of the man’s back. It felt almost like Tony was a horse about to spook; if he didn’t do this right, Tony would run, and he’d never have this chance again. He had to do this right. “You take responsibility better’n anyone I know, and I know Steve Rogers. You never avoid shouldering your fair share of the blame – more than your share, most times. So… don’t worry ‘bout that, or me being mad. And I hate to break this to you doll, but I hated Wanda way before you’n me started hangin’ out.” That got a choked little sob of a laugh, and Bucky vowed to set the whole goddamned world aflame if it didn’t stop hurting the guy he loved.

“Right… right. You never did seem to… and you said… and you… right. Okay. It’s… it’s about Ultron.”

Somehow, as soon as those words were out of Tony’s mouth and they slotted with the rest of the word-vomit the genius had spewed, Bucky knew that there was a good chance he was going to commit murder before the night was over. If this was what he thought it was…

Well. It just might be time for a good old fashioned witch hunt.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. So I should REALLY post this on Tumblr first, but. But I have to go to bed like, now if I want to function enough to go to the training I have for work tomorrow. And to post it on Tumblr, I have to go through and reformat (I type everything automatically formatted for AO3 now, because I am a creature of habit), and it's a pain in the ass. So. You guys get it first? :'D I will apologize to Tumblr tomorrow night when I have enough time to post it there.
> 
> Not gonna lie, this chapter intimidated the SHIT out of me. I have started it at least eight different times and hated everything I wrote, and then I avoided it like the plague because I was just so freaking stuck. And then last night I was like 'just fucking do it', and I found this little coffee shop where I seem to write a lot better, so I went there today. At first I was listening to the Moana soundtrack, but that was noooot helping me get into the mood. XD So, thanks to some quick web research and [this](http://hannahheath-writer.blogspot.com/2014/07/my-top-10-songs-for-writing-action.html) very helpful post by Hannah Heath (who I do not know from Adam but is now my personal hero) I switched to some really fun soundtrack songs that actually helped. Mostly from LOTR and various Marvel movies, but also with a little Batman thrown in for fun. I've never been so pumped to write action, and everything stopped coming out so _soft_.
> 
> I'm still not completely happy with it, but if I don't post it now I never, ever will. XD Like, I couldn't even go through and really edit it at all, because if I started I would second guess myself into infinity, and then never write anything ever again. So yeah. XD
> 
> **TL;DR:** Here is the thing, I hope it doesn't suck. 
> 
> Comments please? :'D

Tony Stark was curled up in his arms, sleeping peacefully with his face buried in Bucky’s neck. The lines of worry and fear that he carried had finally eased after about an hour, and it seemed like the man felt safe with him. It was everything Bucky had wanted for months now (minus some kissing, but he could live with that) and he _should_ be over the moon. He should be happy and at ease himself, maybe even be ready to drift off as well. Bucky should be full of positive feelings, and this should be enough to give him hope that there was a ‘them’ in the future.

Instead, all he felt pounding through his veins and screaming in his head was fury. It had taken everything in him not to go after Wanda as soon as the genius had finished his story. Bucky wanted to make her pay, wanted to descend on her like Tony’s avenging angel. He wanted to make her very, _very_ sorry she’d ever hurt the man who’d poured his heart out about a wrong done to him then twisted himself up into a pretzel to make it his own fault instead of placing the blame where it belonged. 

The only thing that had stopped him initially was the way Tony had been clinging to him. He wasn’t going to make Tony face the witch, not in the state he was in. It would have been cruel, and would’ve destroyed the trust they’d been building between them. Because Tony never wanted anyone to see him as weak, and he’d been a _mess_ after he was done talking. Tear tracks had marred his splotchy cheeks, and his eyes had been bloodshot and puffy from weeping. He’d been shaking, the tremors evident even to the naked eye, and he’d been holding onto Bucky like doing so was the only thing keeping him from drowning. All his guards had been down, and he’d never have forgiven Bucky if he’d let anyone else see the genius that way. Hell, there was a decent chance he’d be mad at Bucky later for seeing him like that.

So he couldn’t bring Tony with him to confront Wanda, and he didn’t want to leave the other man alone either. When he’d pulled away just to get their shirts, Tony’d let out a small, wounded sound that went straight to his heart and gutted him. He’d given in to the urge to drop kisses to the crown of Tony’s head and then his temple, murmuring soft nothings in Russian to try and soothe him. It had taken almost ten minutes for him to finally ease out the man’s hold, and he’d _still_ left Tony whimpering and curled up in a tight, shivering ball. He just didn’t have it in him to be gone longer than it took to grab his own shirt. Tony’s would have still been damp from all the foam earlier anyway, and he’d already been uncomfortable enough. He didn’t need to be cold and wet on top of it.

Bucky’d ended up helping Tony into his shirt; it was big on him, but he’d seemed to appreciate it regardless. Once he had the genius in his arms again, he’d used the skills learned as the Winter Soldier to get them to Tony’s room unseen. From there, he’d _wanted_ to go and find the witch, but Tony was still clinging and making absolutely pathetic sounds anytime he thought Bucky was leaving. And yeah, putting the beat-down on Wanda would be both immensely satisfying and help Tony in the long run, but he didn’t want to hurt the genius further in the here and now. Vengeance would have to wait.

Which had all led to his current predicament. He’d wanted to be in Tony’s bed, but not like this. He’d wanted to hold the other man, but he’d imagined a lot more kissing and way fewer tears. It was a kind of exquisite torture, having Tony without really having him. At least the man trusted him enough to talk and enough to want him close in the aftermath of doing so. That would have to be enough to console him for the time being.

And really, even if it wasn’t exactly what he’d pictured, he still had a sleeping genius curled against his chest. He was sleeping contentedly just then because of _Bucky_ , and some of the burden he carried was finally off his chest. He’d let Bucky into his bed _and_ into his confidence – the latter was a rare and precious gift. So the more he thought about it, the more perfect it felt, and the more his anger drained away.

It was still within easy reach, and it would be there, ready and waiting, when he made his move. Until then Bucky could let it rest and focus on taking care of Tony. He just hoped the genius wouldn’t punish him for it later.

~.~.~

Pinning Wanda down long enough to confront her about what she’d done would be tricky. That power of hers was no fuckin’ joke, and he had no desire to be trapped in his own worst nightmares for any length of time. Sure, if she messed with his head Stevie’d turn on her for sure, but then the focus would shift. He wanted everyone to pay attention to what she’d done to Tony, not on whatever she did to him.

Going after her during training was an obvious choice and also a no-go. Her guard would be up and so would everyone else’s. They’d be too quick to decide he’d simply reverted, and they’d taken him down before he did what he needed to do. And as much as he was doing this for Tony, he didn’t want the genius to witness the showdown. He’d be embarrassed and pained, and the last thing Bucky wanted was to hurt Tony further. So his strike had to be well planned and precisely timed… which meant he had to keep his rage tucked away and pretend everything was fucking peachy. It sucked, but for the next few days he grinned like nothing was wrong. He did start leaving any room Wanda entered though. Not only did he not want to put up with her, he also didn’t want her to catch psychic wind of what he was planning. The hurt look on her face whenever he did it only made him want to hit her. The bitch was lucky she wasn’t locked up and that anyone wanted to be in her company at all. He sure as hell wasn’t obligated to linger in her presence.

Bucky planned and prepared, making sure all his knives were sharp. More and more of them were tucked away on his person every day – they were small and (in his hands especially) deadly. They might give him an edge, keep the witch on her toes. If she was paying attention to them as they flew through the air, she’d be a lot less aware of where he was.

Finally, almost a full, agonizing week after Tony’s confession, it was time.

~.~.~

He struck on a rainy day when Tony had been called in to SI for a meeting. Rainy days had become a day of tradition and togetherness on the compound. Everyone (except Tony, always except Tony) would gather for a breakfast made by Steve and Sam, then settle in for a morning of movies and hot chocolate. Bucky was fond of such days even as he’d always mourned the fact that Tony never joined them. With everyone relaxed and together, it was the best opportunity he was ever going to get.

He entered the common room before her, doing his best not to project his intentions. Bucky knew he was keyed up and jittery, but that wasn’t actually all that uncommon for him. Being around the others still tended to make him nervous, so as long as she was only skimming the surface, she wouldn’t notice anything different. That played in his favor, because she was still relaxed and smiling when she trailed into the room with a bowl of popcorn. Most of her attention was on Vision, and the android only had eyes for her. The others were chatting in the background, playfully fighting over which movie to watch – in that moment, he hated all of them.

The knowledge that they could be so _happy_ even while Tony felt like a complete outsider burned within him. They never seemed to wonder why the genius didn’t join group activities – most of the time they neglected to invite him at all on the assumption that he’d say no anyway. All of them ignored the way they’d isolated and ostracized Tony, and Bucky wasn’t going to stand for it a minute longer. The witch would still bear the brunt of his wrath, but he’d make sure none of them escaped unscathed.

When Wanda started to move past him, Bucky didn’t even have to think before moving. Nat _might_ have been able to evade him, but the little witch never stood a chance. Metal fingers wrapped around her throat before she had time to do more than gasp at how close he’d gotten. Popcorn flew up into the air as the bowl slipped from her hands; none of the pieces had hit the ground before Bucky had her against the wall.

He'd put his full weight behind the charge, and he was darkly satisfied knowing most of the breath would have been driven from her lungs when she slammed against the surface. That was oxygen she sorely needed just then too, because he was using his metal hand to choke her… though he wasn’t squeezing hard enough for it to be quick. If someone didn’t pull him off and she didn’t use her magic to dislodge him, she’d be forced to feel _every_ second trickle by, would have to fight and struggle helplessly as her body shut down, desperate for air.

The same way Tony must fight for breath during the panic attacks he got when he thought about her magic. The same way Tony had to struggle with the vision she’d left in his head and the wreckage it had left in its wake.

While his prosthetic was taking a grim hold on her slender, oh-so-delicate neck, his flesh hand had gone for a knife. The edge of it was now laid just under her left ear, where he could quickly shift to slide into her jugular if he felt the need. All the rage and animosity he’d been burying over the last week was coursing through him, and he projected the feelings at her as fiercely as he could. He didn’t know if it would work, but he was hoping to slam the weight of his emotions into her mind the way he’d used his muscle to do the same to her physical body – anything to keep her off her game.

It seemed to be working, because he had yet to be thrown off in a scarlet haze. Dimly, he heard shouting in the background and there were hands pulling at him… but the Winter Soldier would not be moved. He had an objective to complete, and the rest of the world could go fuck itself for all he cared. He suspected the more super-powered Avengers in the room were too shocked to really put their all into stopping him, which was good.

Bucky took far too much pleasure in the rasping, wheezing sound coming from Wanda’s throat. The way the whites of her eyes were showing sent a thrill through him – if this was a kill mission, that would tell him he had her, that she was too afraid to fight back effectively. But as much as he’d enjoy it, Wanda wasn’t going to die by his hand – probably not, anyway. Tony wouldn’t want her dead, and he didn’t want to be locked away in some dank cell where he’d never see the genius again either.

With all the care of a lover, he put his mouth to her right ear, a smile on his face that he knew was chilling. The way she shuddered only fed the black pleasure inside of him, and he did hope he wouldn’t lose control of himself completely.

“I know what you did to him, witch,” he whispered, voice a cold snarl, one reserved for when he felt closer to being the Winter Soldier than anything else. “I know what you did to him, and if it were up to me, you’d pay for it in _blood_.”

That seemed to snap her into reacting at last. He felt her tense, and then he was hurtling through the air and all he could see was red. The Winter Soldier didn’t need to see in order to be dangerous, however, and neither did he need to be still. Bucky threw the knife he’d pulled in her direction and was rewarded by a screech of fury; immediately after, he dropped like a stone. That meant he’d been right, and she didn’t have enough control to handle both him and a projectile headed her way.

She was a raw, untrained, loose fucking canon, and he didn’t understand why Stevie let her in the field.

His reflexes were enough to let him land on the floor in a crouch, metal hand touching down as well. Using that and his powerful leg muscles, he launched himself at her again, intent on his target. He already had another knife in hand, and this time he might leave a little cut behind to make sure the lesson would stick… or he might have if Steve hadn’t put himself directly in Bucky’s path.

The force with which he hit Steve would have been enough to mow down almost anyone else; the super soldier just grunted and fell back a few steps, holding on to Bucky’s upper arms. Wanda, he saw over the blonde’s shoulder, was on her knees and gasping for breath. Vision was at her side, fluttering in a way Bucky hadn’t known the android was capable of. He probably saw Wanda as a victim – fuck, they probably all did. But he could see that it wasn’t fear in her eyes, not anymore, or anything that even remotely screamed ‘victim’. The look in her eyes was one of rage and murderous intent; she would gut him if she had half the chance, and do it gladly. Scarlet light twined around the fingers not touching her neck; that was his only clue.

Well, that and the soft sound of metal cutting through air. She’d taken control of the knife he’d thrown and sent it back at him; he managed to deflect it, sneering at how easy it was. It fell harmlessly to the ground, for the moment, but he knew she’d use it again if she could.

“Both of you stop it!” That was Steve, shouting practically in his ear. Virtuous, righteous Steve who’d ignored Tony’s suffering for _months_ , maybe even years. Steve, who’d welcomed Wanda into Tony’s home and team with open fucking arms. Steve, who seemed to think everyone but the genius deserved a second chance.

Snarling, Bucky shoved at the blond hypocrite, forcing him out of the way. Before he could take more than two steps toward the witch, however, he was again enveloped in scarlet light. This time it wrapped around him tight, preventing movement and reminding him of restraints and that _fucking_ chair. There wasn’t much point in fighting, since he couldn’t really move, but that didn’t stop him – he probably looked like a rabid animal as he twisted and growled in the air, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting to the witch and making her pay.

Unfortunately, without the element of surprise or the ability to throw any of his knives, her powers were a little more than he could easily handle. None of the other Avengers were leaping to his defense either – rationally, that made sense. He’d been the one to attack first, so of course they’d all be wary of him. Irrationally, all he could think was that the witch must have some sort of hold over all their minds – the Avengers always chose _her_ , even when it didn’t make any kind of sense.

It wasn’t until he’d been pinned to the far wall with that same knife against his throat that someone finally gathered their wits enough to intervene. Surprisingly, that person was _not_ Steve.

“Wanda! Drop the knife!” Sam ordered in his no-nonsense tone of voice, the one that always made Bucky feel like a little kid being scolded. Maybe he wasn’t the only one, because when the bitch replied it was in a whine more suited to a teen than a grown woman.

“He attacked me first! I’m just defending myself! I _told_ you he was still unstable,” she added to Steve, poison lacing her lilting voice. The super soldier looked completely torn – his two favorites were fighting, and he clearly didn’t know what to do.

It pissed him right off, because if he’d been fighting with _Tony_? Steve would have been all over that shit in a hot second, and he’d have beaten the ever living snot out of the genius for going after his best friend. With Wanda he fucking _hesitated_ , and it was absolutely enraging. He’d known her for maybe a year and a half, and she’d been part of goddamned Hydra, and Steve was _hesitating_ instead of taking his side.

“He does seem to be in Winter Soldier mode,” Nat pointed out cooly, continuing the trend of everyone picking the witch. “Wanda might have a point, Steve. We might have rushed into socializing him. _Soldat_ ,” she continued, expression going hard and her voice turning firm.

“If you try’n gimme a fuckin’ order,” he spat at her, hoping the bit of Brooklyn in her voice would correct her assumption. “I’ll give ya some-a what the witch’s got comin’.” When he felt the edge of the knife press harder against his skin, he couldn’t help but let out a harsh laugh. “Do it bitch – cut me’n see how Stevie takes it.” Because that had to be line, didn’t it? If she drew blood, that would bring out Steve’s ridiculously overprotective side, or she was fucking mind-controlling the shit out of him.

“Wanda, drop the knife.” Finally there was some authority in Steve’s voice, and Bucky wanted to crow in victory – he’d been right! Except then the punk turned and leveled a stern look at him. “You too Buck. Drop it.”

“I would, but currently I can’t get my hand to _fuckin’ work_.”

“You tried to kill me! Why would I let you move your hand so you can try again?”

“If’n I’da been _trying_ , you’d be _dead_.”

“Wanda, put him down. C’mon guys, let’s be adults here. Bucky’s not in Winter mode, so we can talk through this instead of beating each other up, can’t we?” Poor Sam, always trying to be the voice of reason in a house chock full of crazy.

“I’m not letting him go until he swears not to attack me again.”

“He won’t,” Steve hastened to assure her. “Right Buck? Right. So put him down.” Because it was _Steve_ and the two of them had some weird _thing_ between them that was trumped only by the completely fucking crazy thing she had with Hawkeye, Wanda did let him go. It wasn’t done gently though, and he went crashing to the floor again, both knives clattering down next to him.

Bucky wondered how many of the noticed he’d promised her fuck all.

“Now. What is going _on_ with you man?”

“He’s insane!” Wanda broke in, answering Sam before Bucky had a chance. “He… he thinks I did something. I didn’t. Steve, I promise – I told you I would be good, and I haven’t done _anything_ to Tony since I joined the Avengers.”

“What about b’fore then, ya stupid bitch?” Bucky demanded, muscles tensing in an aborted urge to lunge again. He made a great show of tucking both knives away before he stood, then made a mental note not to go for those particular ones again. Better to go for different ones no one knew about – he still needed surprise on his side if he wanted to get anywhere near Wanda.

“Bucky, what are you talking about?”

“Why don’tchu ask her? An’ if you lie, I’ll fuckin’ cut you.”

“Mr. Barnes, _please_.” The android sounded almost distressed, and would probably be wringing his hands if he ever actually used any human gestures. “You are being most intemperate-”

“I’ll show you _intemperate_ , you fuckin-”

“Bucky!” Steve sounded pissed, and very much like he was about to definitively take Wanda’s side. “I don’t know what Tony told you, but Wanda didn’t even get near him when we went to South Africa to Klaue’s salvage yard. She got the rest of us, but Iron Man and Hawkeye didn’t get hit by her. The ones who did have forgiven her for it.”

“’Cept Bruce, right?” Bucky asked aggressively, pleased when Nat flinched and regret pulled Steve’s mouth tight. “Made the poor guy feel like a fuckin’ monster again, so much so’s he left the team, but fuck ‘im, right? More important ta play nice with th’ witch who turned ‘im loose on a city full-a innocent-”

“Enough!” Steve bellowed, looking red in the face now. Nat had turned away and had her arms crossed; if she’d been anyone else, he’d have said she was hugging herself. Vision was still fluttering, probably not knowing what to do in the face of so many messy emotions. Sam was watching him with a look that bordered on understanding though, which almost made Bucky like him. “What happened with the Hulk was… regrettable, but he chose to leave the team before Wanda was officially part of it. You can’t blame her for that.”

“So she had _nothin’_ ta do with him leavin’? That’s _**bullshit**_ Stevie and you know it-”

“Bucky,” Sam broke in, sounding so even-tempered that he felt sorta like he had to let the guy speak. I thought this was about Tony?”

“It is.” Shit, he’d let himself get distracted… but maybe not as much as it seemed on the surface. Tony’d seemed just as pained by Bruce’s running as he had been by Wanda’s violation of his own mind, after all.

“Can you explain what happened? I was busy chasing after your stupid ass, so I wasn’t there when it all went down.” That almost made Bucky smile, and fuck, if he wasn’t careful he’d end up actually liking Wilson before this was all over. “What do you think Wanda did to Tony?”

“She didn’t get him!” Steve exploded, throwing his hands up in the air, ignoring the warning look Sam shot his way. “He was _fine_ , Buck, and whatever he told you-”

“Not in South Africa,” Bucky snarled, glaring daggers at Wanda. She looked faintly nervous as she watched Steve pace, at least until she realized Bucky was watching her. Then she shifted back to anger and glared right back, chin jutted out at a proud angle. “Ask the witch about what she did to him in Sokovia.”

“I _defended_ my homeland from a monster created by _Stark_ , that is what I did. It was _Stark’s_ fault my home was threatened _again_ , the same way it was when he killed my parents-”

“AND I KILLED HIS!” Bucky roared, absolutely fucking _done_ with that nonsense. “Ya don’t see him fucking off to join Hydra in the name of revenge, do ya? And he killed your parents, huh? No he fucking didn’t. Know what he actually did? Designed a goddamned bomb, which was his fuckin’ job – just like Howard did b’fore him, Stevie, so don’t even get me started with that bullshit,” he warned his best friend when the punk opened his mouth. “He didn’t decide where it got sent, didn’t aim the fucking thing, and he didn’t hit the button that launched it. He had fuck all to do with your parents dying. Know what I did? I killed _his_ parents with my own damned hands, and he managed not to become a goddamned villain because of it. ‘S almost like you’re just fucking crazy.”

“Buck, that wasn’t _you_ -”

“An’ it wasn’t Tony neither, but none-a you fuckers are in a hurry to point that out ta her, are ya? If he’s responsible, then so’m I.”

“That’s not-”

“Steve.” Bucky had expected Sam to speak and break up the latest fight, but it was Nat who interceded first. “Not now. I want to hear what Bucky thinks he knows about Sokovia.”

“You were there,” Wanda insisted mulishly. “You know what happened – Ultron attacked and I helped you stop him.”

“Not that time. The first time – in Strucker’s base. Tell ‘em witch, or I will.”

“Wanda?” Steve had on his ‘you kicked my puppy’ face, which was a step in the right direction at least. “What’s he talking about. You weren’t involved that time, were you? Your brother was there, but I never saw _you_ …”

“I… did not leave the base,” Wanda hedged, making Bucky’s eyes narrow.

“Somebody went _in_ though.”

“Yeah, Nat, somebody fucking did. Now _tell them_.”

“Stark took _everything_ from me and Pietro,” Wanda started, clenching her hands into fists. Bucky snorted and crossed his arms over his chest, using the move to hide the two knives he drew from their hiding places under his armpits. “Do you not understand that? The bomb… my brother and I… for two days, we waited for Stark to kill us-”

“It was a **bomb** , not Tony Stark,” Bucky interrupted ruthlessly. “An’ it still gives you no right-”

“I wanted him to know fear!” she broke in, a red light glinting in her eyes and playing around her fingers. “I wanted him to know that same fear that I did, that _Pietro_ did. He destroyed our lives and did nothing to pay for it – he is a murderer who managed to escape any trials for his crimes on a technicality. Do you know what that kind of fear, the fear that _he_ gave us, does? Do you? It eats you alive until hate and fear are all that is left. **He** did that to us, and Stark deserved a taste of it for himself. I simply did what the courts would not – I made him pay.”

Steve looked like he wanted to be sick, and Bucky thought it served him right. How had he gone longer than a minute thinking the witch was anything but dangerously unstable? “Wanda… you told me the first time you used your power like that was in South Africa. You _swore_ you hadn’t… why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because Stark _deserved_ it. I am sorry for what I did to you Steve, and to the other Avengers, but Stark-”

“You _violated_ him,” Bucky snarled, hands curling tighter around the hands of his knives. “Nobody _deserves_ that, you crazy bitch. You violated his mind and played on every one-a his fears, and _that’s_ why he created Ultron.”

“Now wait just a minute, Buck. I’m… I’m not _happy_ I’m only hearing about this now, but you can’t put Ultron on Wanda. That was all Tony.”

“Really Stevie? **All** Tony? ‘Cause I’ve met his ‘bots – who are limited AI’s – and interacted with FRIDAY,” and a couple other, unfinished AI’s Tony was working on, but these assholes didn’t deserve to hear about that until Tony was damned good and ready to tell ‘em. “An’ I’ve heard a lot about JARVIS too. AI’s is what Tony Stark _does_ – it’s what he loves. He never enjoyed the weapons game like he does robotics and AI’s. And funny enough, only _one_ ever went fuckin’ evil. ‘M I supposed ta believe it’s a coincidence the one that did was made after _she_ was in his head?”

“Mr. Stark has ever been careful when creating an AI.” Vision murmured, sounding hesitant – probably because his words were sort of damning to his crush. “I do not remember being JARVIS, but from the data that remains… he treats them as his children. They are never rushed, and always watched carefully early on in their development so Mr. Stark can… guide them. If I am correct, Ultron was created in approximately three days.”

“Because Tony was fucking _panicking_. He was panicking because of that _bitch_ , and none-a you noticed! How did you not notice, Stevie? He’s supposed ta be part of your team, ain’t he?”

“Tony is hard to… he doesn’t… he seemed _fine_ , Bucky! And he never told us. How could we have known about… and why didn’t he tell us?”

“Because he didn’t think you’d believe him, or that if you did you would condone it.” Steve looked crushed, Sam guilty, and even Natasha was almost having an expression. Tony had been _right_ , and Bucky had never been so disgusted with a group of people before this – even Hydra was just fucking evil, so what could you expect? These people were supposed to be Tony’s _friends_. “Hell, for a while he didn’t even know the truth of what happened. He has panic attacks on the regular, did any-a you fuckers know that? He has panic attacks’n flashbacks’n nightmares so bad that when she _violated his fucking mind_ , he didn’t realize she was doing it. He thought his anxiety had just found a new way to fuck with him. Then Ultron happened, an’ he saw you all shake her magic off, an’ he was too ashamed to say anything. But what she did to him wasn’t exactly like what she did to all-a you, was it witch?” Wanda refused to answer, which he thought said it all.

“But he seemed _fine_ ,” Steve protested again, though it was much weaker this time.

“Did he really, or was that just what you _wanted_ ta see? ‘Cause it’s easier for all-a you when he’s just a careless, reckless billionaire who never had it hard, isn’t it?” He glared at all of them in turn now, because they were _all_ guilty as sin as far as he was concerned. “All any of you ever wanted to see was that flashy front of his, so you could live off-a his dime’n have him upgrade your shit without doin’ anything in return. He had to be _paying_ for something in order for you to accept it. So you saw a guy who has quirks instead-a issues, who walked outta Afghanistan an’ nearly _dyin_ ’ in space ‘cause of aliens and all other kinds a shit without a scratch. That’s what you wanted from him, ‘cause it made you feel better for not treating him as good as you coulda. You said he was one-a your best friends besides me Stevie – that’s what you _said_ when you found out I liked him. But you didn’t even know – you never _saw_. He’s supposed to be one of you – an Avenger. So why’re you makin’ him pay for shit over’n over, while the resta you get no strings attached second chance?”

“Bucky, that’s not-”

“ **No** , Stevie. He’s too worried about losing you all to fight for himself, so I’ll fuckin’ do it for him. He won’t thank me for it, but someone’s gotta fucking say something or I’ll end up killing you all. Not only do you make him pay for the sin of trusting the wrong fella over’n over, but then you let _her_ on the team. From what I c’n tell, you didn’t even bother ta slap her on the wrist first for joining up with fucking Hydra – which she did of her own free will! Nobody ever seems ta want to talk about that, but she was a bad guy, Stevie, and she was with them for the sole purpose of getting’ revenge on Tony Stark, who’s _supposed_ ta be one of your best friends. At the very least, he’s your teammate, and he watched you just… let her on the team. You took her word over his, you didn’t say ‘boo’ about what she did ta Bruce – who was just about the only Avenger who woulda taken his side – and you let her on the team that he wasn’t even fuckin’ recommended for at first. Do you have any idea what that did ta him?”

Steve looked a little green again, and Sam couldn’t meet his eyes. Nat actually looked _guilty_ , which meant she had more to do with it all than even he knew. Vision was faded around the edges, like he was thinking about making the floor swallow him so he could get away, and Wanda… well. Fucking Wanda Maximoff looked completely unrepentant, and he was just… he was just _done_.

“I’m ashamed of you, Steve Rogers, and your ma would be too.” The words would cut Stevie deeper than anything else he could say, and they might make the stupid punk actually _think_. “None-a you _deserve_ him, and it’d serve you right if he left you fuckers to fend for yourself completely. How long d’you think you’d last, with SHIELD gone? Better hope you never gotta find out. An’ _you_ ,” as he turned his attention to Wanda, he let both knives fly true – her scarlet magic stopped them inches from her suddenly pale face, and they trembled where she held them in the air. “You oughta thank Tony Stark on bended knee – he wouldn’t want me to kill ya. That’s the _only_ reason you’re walking outta this room. If I thought it’d make him happy, I’d slit your throat in a second. So mebbe you should stop usin’ your magic when he’s around just to scare him – yeah, I know about that too, bitch,” he continued, pleased by the surprise and guilt in her expression as she darted a look to Steve. “The rest of the team’s fuckin’ blind, but I am _watching you_. You hurt him again, an’ I don’t care if he’ll hate me for it. I’ll fucking kill you, an’ your magic won’t be near enough to save you.” He’d expected her to throw the knives back at him, but instead they just fell to the floor – the thought that he’d managed to spook her filled him with vicious pride.

The silence that fell over the common room was deafening, and Bucky reveled in it. Maybe this would get them to realize what they’d all done, what they’d failed to do, and what they’d sat back and just let fucking happen. Part of him doubted it though, because they all seemed so willfully blind when it came to one Tony Stark. “I could keep talkin’, but I dunno how much would actually sink in. Enjoy your fucking movies – which you _never_ invite him to – and your hot chocolate. Leave me the hell alone, ‘cause I’m disgusted with every one-a ya.”

Turning on his heel, Bucky marched for the elevator, not the least bit surprised when he was halfway there before anyone even _thought_ to protest. He put on a bit of speed just in case Stevie thought about actually following him, and he didn’t relax until he was safely hidden by the elevator doors. “FRIDAY?”

“Yes Sergeant?” Tony called her a ‘VI’ so the Avengers didn’t demand her destruction, but Bucky knew better. Sometimes he thought even the genius was blind to the way she was growing, because it made him think of JARVIS and that hurt. She _was_ growing though, and the warmth he heard in her electronic voice only proved it.

“Take me down to the ‘shop’s level? An’ can you let me in but lock everybody else out until Tony gets back?”

“For anyone else, that’d be a ‘no’, on Boss’ orders. For you? I’ve made you an exception code. Would you like to learn it so you can use it in the future?”

“Nah,” Bucky answered, grinning. “I might be tempted ta abuse the privilege. Better make it a one-time use code.”

“As you wish, Sergeant Barnes.”

“An’… could you mebbe warn Tony ‘bout what happened? That way he can come to the shop from the garage without seein’ anybody if he wants to. Don’t want him walkin’ inta the hornet’s nest _I_ kicked up.”

“Good idea, Sergeant. I’ll be lettin’ Boss know once he’s out of his meeting.”

“Thanks Fri.”

“No, Sergeant Barnes. Thank you.”

~.~.~

Tony came home about an hour after Steve got done trying to get into the ‘shop – FRIDAY had refused to listen even to his override codes, which tickled Bucky pink after the confrontation. They were for use when ‘Boss’ was in the ‘shop, she’d insisted, and she had no written protocols for her to follow when it was Sergeant Barnes inside instead, and she was very sorry, but there was nothing she could do.

He fucking loved FRIDAY.

Bucky had taken up residence on the couch, DUM-E parked right next to him, close as he could get. They were reading a book – or rather, Bucky was reading and the ‘bot was ‘helping’. Trying to, anyway, and Bucky just didn’t have the heart to tell him he was turning the pages at all the wrong times. He could always re-read it later, or get a synopsis from Wikipedia or something. He hadn’t even realized the genius was in the ‘shop at all; it was the only place in the compound where he wasn’t on constant alert, and he let his senses relax completely. The first he knew of the man’s arrival was when he shooed the ‘bot. Bucky had just enough time to look up and blink in surprise, and then… then he had a lap full of Tony Stark.

The genius had straddled him, and his face was a hell of a lot closer than it usually was, and Bucky had to fight the urge to just kiss him. Maybe it was the route to go though – no chance of him breaking into Russian that way, and maybe he’d _finally_ get Tony to understand how he felt. But maybe Tony wouldn’t want him after that little display earlier, except then why would he be in Bucky’s lap, and _shit_ emotions were harder than he remembered.

“Hey,” he croaked, because it was the only English word he remembered that his mouth could actually get around.

“Heya Buckaboo,” Tony returned easily, like Bucky wasn’t the biggest idiot on the planet. “How was your day?” He was pretty sure this was a trap, but he didn’t know the purpose of it, or what Tony had planned for when it sprung. All he could do was walk into it and hope the genius had mercy on him.

“I hate all-a our friends,” he grumbled, proud to still not be speaking Russian. If he was going out, it might as well be with a bang, so he tucked his face into the crook of Tony’s shoulder, breathing the other man in. “How was yours?”

“ _I_ hate my Board of Directors,” Tony answered, sounding downright cheerful for a guy who’d been stuck in a meeting for hours on end. “Still don’t know why Pep can’t just handle them. So my day was really crappy, until FRIDAY showed me something veeeeery interesting.”

Oh yeah, the genius was fucking delighted, and Bucky really didn’t know what that meant for him. He mumbled something – maybe something in Romanian? Fuck if he knew – and wrapped his arms around Tony’s waist, pulling the man closer and smooshing his face harder against Tony’s neck.

“Come on, Frosty, don’t be that way! I’m not mad – well, not anymore.” Bucky flinched at the thought of Tony being upset with him at _all_ , tightening his hold, wishing he could hide inside Tony where the world would never bother him again. “I was at first – I told you all that shit in confidence, Bucky-babe,” the man’s voice was stern, but it only lasted a moment before he went back into light, breezy tones. “But then I thought about it, and watched it again, and thought some more, and then I watched you throw knives at Wanda and wondered if I was a bad person for enjoying it,” Bucky mumbled an emphatic ‘no’, but it was in Hungarian, so he wasn’t sure if Tony got it. “And then I thought that maybe I was thinking about it all wrong.”

When Tony tucked his fingers under Bucky’s chin and tried to make him look up, he resisted for a moment – he might never get to sit like this again, and he wanted it to last, damn it. Eventually he gave in though, and he found that Tony was smiling at him, bright as the fucking sun, and his eyes were warm and fond. “People don’t go to bat for me, Bucky-bear. I made the armor to take hits, and it wasn’t the first set I crafted.”

“Hate your press smile almost as much as I hate our friends,” Bucky told him petulantly, cheering a little when that made Tony laugh.

He wanted to _always_ make Tony laugh.

“So yeah. I take the hits because I can, so other people won’t have to. It’s sort of my whole thing. I’m not…” Tony was beginning to look vaguely uncomfortable, and that was _wrong_ , so Bucky began to (hesitantly) rub circles into his lower back. That at least made the genius smile again, so he grew a little bolder in his touches. “Steve is your best friend, you know? I know that, always did. You two have this epic bromance that spans the ages – I always kinda thought you two were fucking when I was younger and hornier and stupider – and I never thought I could compete with that. Never _wanted_ to. You shouldn’t have to choose. I hate it when people try to make me choose, and everyone always does. Even Pepper did, in the end, and I didn’t want to do that to you. Besides, Steve’s great – it’s not his fault I’m fucked up.”

Bucky opened his mouth, ready to passionately refute the idea that Tony was anything less than wonderful, only to have the man put a hand over his mouth. He was still smiling, but there was something vulnerable about the expression, and the lines crinkling around his eyes were all the wrong ones for him to be happy.

“Shhhh. I know, I know. You apparently think I’m the greatest thing since sliced bread. Did you have sliced bread before you got turned into a snowman? Or did you have to like, cut it yourself? You didn’t have to bake it, did you? Baking bread is the worst, Brucie showed me one time and the waiting was terrible. But that’s not what I want to talk to you about. Jesus, I’m babbling about _bread_ , and that is one of many reasons why you really shouldn’t like me. Normal people don’t get distracted by baked goods in the middle of conversation.” Rolling his eyes, Bucky reached up and pulled Tony’s hand away so he could speak.

“I fell off a fuckin’ train and got turned into a freeze-n-play murder doll,” he deadpanned, preening internally when Tony started to laugh, the little wrinkles around his eyes all the right ones now. “Normal is not exactly somethin’ I’m looking for.”

“Yeah, well. Still. I’m not _good_ , not like Steve is, but you… you _yelled_ at him. For me.”

“He don’t treat you right,” Bucky grumbled, looking away in embarrassment. “None of ‘em do. Serve us all right if you left and never looked back.”

“But then I couldn’t see you, and you’re sorta the highlight of my days here Bucky-doodle. So I can’t just walk away. But… even if you spilled my guts for me and I’m not happy about it, you… you went to bat for me. People don’t _do_ that. Well, Rhodey sometimes, and Pepper once or twice, but… well. Like I said – I can take the hits. I don’t want people I care about taking them for me.”

“Well they fucking should every once in a while. You shouldn’t have to take ‘em all, Tony.”

“Hmm.”

“So… you’re not mad?”

“Nope.”

“And you’re in my lap.”

“So observant, Bucky-come-lately.”

“I haven’t – if you wanna help with that, be my guest.” More laughter, which maybe wasn’t exactly what he’d hoped for, but still. Tony wasn’t mad and was in his lap – this was still an overall win.

“So you currently hate our friends-”

“Every one of ‘em.”

“- which sort of limits your social options to me, and I’m… there’s a thing. A thing for SI.”

“What kind of thing?” There was a sinking feeling in his chest, one that said Tony would be leaving him behind and he’d have to deal with all the shitty Avengers on his own. Maybe the genius would at least let him keep hiding in the lab.

“An ‘in Europe and parts of Asia’ thing. I’ve been dealing with the R&D departments in other countries pretty exclusively via teleconferencing and video conferencing. The board says I have to go visit them – every single one of them – in person. I think they want me out of the way so they can be sneaky about something, probably weapons, but Pep’ll put a stop to that. She’s terrifying, you know, even when she likes you.”’

“Does she like the board?”

“About as much as you like Wanda.”

“So they won’t be pulling any tricks then.”

“They’ll try. She might even let them come close, so she can dash all their dreams and make them cry. I hope she makes them cry.”

“So… you’re leaving for Europe.”

“In about four and a half hours.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“I hope you have fun, Tony, I really do, and that it’s not all boring business stuff that you hate,” Bucky told him, really trying not to sound as pathetically depressed as he felt. This was probably going to take at least a month, which meant a month without Tony, which would have sucked even if he currently liked their friends, which he did not. Still, Tony didn’t need to be burdened with Bucky’s emotions – he deserved to have a good trip.

“Oh, that part’s going to be awesome. R&D is what I love – Pep’s better at the boring shit and at scaring the board, and I’m good at creating shit. That’s why she’s the CEO, and I’m the CTO. CTO’s get to blow more things up. When I blew things up as a CEO, people were rarely pleased. But anyway. So I’ll be gone a while, and I’ll be in strange lands, without a friend in the world.”

“You have friends, Tony. Don’t be a dope.”

“Yeah, but none of them will be with me. I can’t even bring Happy – he’s my favorite bodyguard, but Iron Man doesn’t really _need_ a bodyguard, so he’s better off staying with Pep and annoying the HR people about badges and privileges and permissions. It’s what he loves. So my friends and my CEO and my bodyguard will all be staying here in the states, and I will be tragically alone.” That awful, sinking feeling was turning into something a heck of a lot better – it was turning into something that felt an awful lot like hope.

“I feel like you’re try’n ta tell me something here doll.”

“Buuuuuckyyyyyy,” the man whined, collapsing against him in dramatic Tony Stark fashion. “Come to Europe with me and keep me company so I don’t die of loneliness induced misery.”

“You askin’ ‘cause you need a bodyguard?”

“Pfft. Iron Man doesn’t need bodyguards, weren’t you paying attention to what I just said?”

“Really? ‘Cause Stevie one time told me about this thing where you got your house blown all ta shit by some British actor-” Tony stopped him with a playful punch to his shoulder, and began to scowl up at him in an expression that was more adorable than threatening.

“Don’t make me break out the armor, Buck-a-roo. And no, I’m not asking you to come be my bodyguard. I… it’s come to my attention that you might… like me more than I thought.” Tony was actually _blushing_ , something Bucky didn’t think he’d ever seen before. “Pep says if I don’t see exactly how much more you like me then I’m an idiot, and I’m actually a genius – in case you didn’t know. Very smart guy here, and very able to provide for any potential romantic partners. But I’m not supposed to lead with my money – Pep says I always lead with my money, and Rhodey _agreed_ with her because he’s a backstabbing, betraying bastard, but I still love my sour patch even when he’s awful to me. So yeah. I’m supposed to not talk about the stuff I can give you, but you already know I’m loaded so I don’t really see the problem? But Pep’s usually right, and so she said that since you seem to like me, and I, you know, like you – but I wasn’t going to say anything, because I didn’t think you liked me very much, and I was afraid you’d feel like you’d have to choose even if you did – so since you went to bat for me with our friends and since we like each other, I thought maybe. You know. Even if we don’t end up being romantic partners by the end of the trip I can at least get you away from the rest of the Avengers for a couple months.”

It honestly took Bucky a second to parse through all that, because when Tony babbled he got awfully distracted by the man’s facial expressions and his eyes and the adorable way he talked with his hands. Eventually he got it though, and that tiny bit of hope burst into full bloom.

“You askin’ me to come to Europe as your date?”

“Uhm. Yes? Unless you don’t want to. Then it’s just as friends. Unless, you know, you want to try, uh. Romantic junk. I’m supposed to ask if you’re allergic to anything, and I’m not allowed to buy you any stuffed animals that wouldn’t fit in your bed. Do you want to? With the romantic junk? And can you tell FRIDAY your allergies, because I’d do my best but I honestly won’t remember.”

“I’m not allergic to anything – serum was useful for some stuff. An’ yeah, I wanna do romantic junk with you.” There was that blush again, and fuck it was even better than getting Tony to laugh. “Wanna take you up to the top of the Eiffel Tower to watch the sunset, ‘n do one of those boat ride things in Venice,” he told the man, grinning when Tony started to squirm and blush harder, obviously fighting a pleased smile. “’M gonna take you dancing in Spain, and do… whatever the fuck they do in Asia. Never been there that I can remember. But yeah. All that romantic junk – wanna do it with you in every country we visit.”

“Oh. That’s… you don’t have to-”

“Did you miss the part where I said I wanted to?”

“Um. FRIDAY?”

“Yes Boss?”

“You’re recording this, right?”

“Always Boss.”

“Send it to my tablet so that when I convince myself tomorrow morning that this was all a dream, I have proof.”

“Does that mean I’m not gonna be in your bed in the morning doll?”

“Before we even go on a date? I am not that kind of girl, Barnes.”

“Can I at least get a kiss? Or do we gotta do some of that romantic junk first?”

“First we have to _pack_ , because if I’m late for the company jet Pepper will stab me with her very tasteful heels.”

“I’d protect you.”

“Pepper would massacre you, and then I’d have no one to do romantic junk with.”

“When can I meet Pepper, ‘cause she sounds way better than most of our shitty friends. Give her wings so we can put Wilson on reserve – he almost made me like him today, and he needs to be punished.”

“While Pep could absolutely do the job and all the villains would be cowering from her in fear, she does not wish to Avenge – she has been very clear on that point. So you’re stuck with Wilson.” Groaning, Bucky hid his face in Tony’s neck, then began to rumble his displeasure – just like he thought it would, that made Tony start to laugh. “Sorry babe. Now go pack!”

“Don’t wanna.”

“… you don’t want to come? Because that’s fine, I didn’t think… I mean, I was pretty sure you wouldn’t-”

“Doll, if I go to my room, Stevie is gonna fuckin’ ambush me. D’you know how hard it is ta pack your shit when Steve Rogers is looking at you like you are personally responsible for puppy cancer?”

“No, but I can imagine.”

“You really can’t.”

“… we could run away?”

“Can we?”

“I can buy you new shit, so yeah. We totally can. I mean, we should leave a note, so Steve doesn’t lose his marbles completely, but fuck yeah we can run away. … is buying you new shit leading with my money?”

“Tony, you could be dead broke and I’d still run away with you. I lived like a fucking hobo for a couple months after SHIELD fell. I could find us the best bridges to sleep under, and you could make us fancy shit out of rocks and twigs. You’d be there, and we could do romantic junk like kiss under the stars, so I’d be happy.”

“That’s the sweetest fucking thing anyone has ever said to me. It makes me want to be a hobo.”

“You wouldn’t be able to keep your beard all neat like that though. Only downside.”

“Never mind. Let’s stick with me being filthy rich and buying you new shit. Pepper can suck it. … don’t ever tell her I said that.”

“My lips are sealed.”

“So… Europe?”

“Where we goin’ first?”

“Italy, actually. Not Venice though, so no boats.”

“Can we visit Venice after you’re done with what you have to do for SI? I wanna go on a boat.”

“They’re gondolas, and maybe? I’ll try to work it into the schedule.”

“Don’t give a fuck what they’re called, they’re boats. If you can’t fit it in this time, we’ll just have to go back another time.”

“That’s assuming Steve ever lets you out of his sight ever, ever again. You know he’s going to come to Europe to find you.”

“… can we make it a scavenger hunt and leave passive aggressive Post-it notes behind for him to find? I saw those on the internet, and they’re great. I want to leave Stevie a rainbow of passive aggressive Post-it notes all across Europe.”

“… it’s like you were fucking _made_ for me.”

After hearing something like that, Bucky really didn’t have any choice but to kiss Tony – there was just no other possible response. So he pulled the man in tighter, letting his metal hand go to the man’s jaw to tip it to the right angle. Not that it mattered, not at first – they were both smiling like fucking idiots, so at first the kiss was nothing but awkward and awful. Tony started to giggle, which was adorable but _not_ what Bucky was going for at all, so he responded with a growl and got serious about it.

Once they’d gotten their acts together though… it was the best kiss he’d ever had. Tony’s lips were soft, softer than he’d thought they’d be, making a nice contrast to the scratchy tickle of his facial hair. The genius melted against him as soon as they’d both put their teeth away, and he wrapped himself so snugly around Bucky that it was hard to know where one of them ended and the other started. And the _sound_ he made when Bucky’s tongue swept past his lips and laid a thorough claim to his mouth… fuck. It was all the best kinds of sinful, and Bucky couldn’t wait to get the fuck out of dodge and begin their ‘Romantic Junk’ tour of SI’s international R &D departments.

Yeah, it wouldn’t solve much – they’d have to deal with the shitty Avengers when they got back, and Steve would be hurt and upset to find he’d left and would definitely chase them across Europe. When they came back, he and Tony would have to deal with the fallout from his little meltdown, and some of it wasn’t going to be pretty. There’d be yelling and tears and accusations, and he still might end up killing the witch. They’d have to sit down and talk it out like adults, and he still might end up fucking liking Sam Wilson before all was said and done. It was going to suck, even if they might come out of it a stronger team. Hell, maybe they’d finally let him out on the field when they’d hashed everything out. And until then he was gonna get to kiss Tony Stark a whole hell of a lot, which really made everything else worth it.

Maybe he couldn’t change what had been done, but going forward he could damn well make sure that nobody ever hurt his beautiful, broken genius ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is finished - there is no more to be had. I'm good with where it ended, and I'm not going to try to wring more story where there isn't any to be found.
> 
> I need to shift my focus to Stony Bingo, because I have like, a month and a half left and I've done NOTHING. T_T
> 
> This started as a prompt on Tumblr - it takes me a while, but I do try to get to them, so if you have one you can toss it into my ask box. <3 [Linku](http://tahlreth.tumblr.com/)

**Author's Note:**

> You can find mah Tumblr here: [Tahlreth](http://tahlreth.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Always happy to talk or listen or scream about things. XD Come find me there!


End file.
